Memorial seats | Australian National Botanic Gardens

To honour Joseph Banks in 1988

Following a suggestion from Mrs Ann Moyal, author of two books on the history of science in Australia, the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Society of London agreed to support jointly a memorial to Sir Joseph Banks to mark his contribution to the development of science in Australia and to celebrate the continuing links between Australia and the United Kingdom in the plant sciences.

The memorial took the form of a bust of Banks located at the Australian National Botanic Gardens and a plaque fixed to the Banks building at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The Australian National Botanic Gardens provided a superb setting for the bust which is surrounded with some of the plants associated with Banks. It is located adjacent to the Visitor Information Centre at the Gardens.

The sculpting of the bust was undertaken by Mrs Ninon Geier, a Canberra sculptor, who was assisted in her researches by Mrs Moyal.

The sculpture was unveiled at a ceremony at the ANBG on 25 April 1988

 

The building in named in honour of Joseph Banks (1743-1820).

The Joseph Banks Building houses the Gardens' Centre for Horticultural Training, and is a focus for a wide range of community education activities. Its glasshouse and part of the associated garden area is used by the Growing Friends group for their propagation programs.

The Building was originally opened as 'The Banksia Centre' by Mrs Tammie Fraser, wife of the then Prime Minister, in July 1982.

It was originally a specialist facility providing horticultural training only to people with disabilities. But with changing community attitudes towards isolating the disabled, and following extensive public consultation, its role was changed so that the training activities for people with disabilities could be integrated with those of the wider community.

The name 'Banksia Centre' also carried the connotation that the building had some special role in growing banksias, often leading to confusion among visitors. The name was changed in 1995.

The building contains an activity room, a glass-house and administration office. The building, and the adjacent garden, has been designed for maximum access by people with a range of disabilities.

Plaque to honour Dr Robert Boden (1935-2009) and first Director of the Australian National Botanic Gardens 1979–1989

 

Photo of Robert Boden when he became Director of the Gardens in 1979.

On 13 June 2005 the ANBG honoured its first Director, Dr Robert Boden with a plaque unveiled in a celebration one week after his 70th birthday.

Biography of Robert Boden

This memorial to the botanist Dr Nancy T. Burbidge takes the form of a small amphitheatre located in the eucalypt lawn of the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra.

The memorial was opened in the presence of Her Excellency, Lady Cowen, C.St J. on 14 September 1980.

The amphitheatre is used as an open-air classroom and meeting place for students and other groups and is designed to assist in the education, conservation and scientific functions of the Gardens. It has seating capacity for about sixty people.

The memorial was proposed by the:

• Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women's Association, ACT
• National Parks Association of the ACT
• Royal Society of Canberra
• Australian Federation of University Women, and
• Australian Systematic Botany Society

The Canberra National Memorials Committee, chaired by the Rt Honourable J. M. Fraser, CH, MP, Prime Minister of Australia, approved the proposal as a fitting memorial to Dr Burbidge's outstanding contribution to Australian botany.

Construction was funded by the organisations that initiated the proposal, together with other friends and colleagues of Dr Burbidge.

The jarrah timber used in the lectern was donated by Mr and Mrs D. Cullity, of Perth, in recognition of Dr Burbidge's Western Australian background.
(This lectern was removed in about 1990 to allow for a wider range of uses for the Memorial)

 

Colin Barnard, 1954

In the Australian National Botanic Gardens, about five metres downhill from the Nancy Burbidge Amphitheatre is a large Tallowwood, Eucalyptus microcorys. In the shade of that tree, on its lower side, in the adjacent bed (Section 37), is a plaque commemorating Dr Colin Barnard MBE, DSc (1904-1974).

The plaque was placed in position in May 1992.

Barnie, as he was known, spent almost the whole of his working life with CSIRO. In 1927 he joined what was then the Division of Economic Botany of CSIR and was seconded to the Commonwealth Research Station at Merbein, Victoria, and later transferred to Canberra. He studied growth and production in grape vines and developed a system for forecasting yield. He also worked on decline and dieback in apples.

In 1935 he assisted Dr. B. T. Dickson with his Report proposing the establishment of a botanic gardens in Canberra, and took the photos included with that report.

During World War II Dr Barnard was in charge of the production of exotic plants by CSIR to supply drugs such as morphine, hyoscine, strychnine and quinine. Later his group investigated native plants, such as Duboisia, of pharmacological and insecticidal value as possible substitutes for, or alternative sources of, imported drugs. L.J. Webb, later an authority on rainforest ecology, was appointed to expand the collection of native plant species.

In 1944 Dr Barnard approached the CSIR Division of Industrial Chemistry for assistance in research on the alkaloids from Australian native plants. Dr J.R. Price who was appointed for this work later became Chairman of CSIRO. When the war was over and the urgency for drug production was reduced, it was accepted that exploring the chemical and pharmacological potential of the flora of Australia and Papua and New Guinea was a worthwhile contribution to the mapping of Australia's natural resources. Hence a collaboration between CSIRO and chemists in universities developed into the Australian Phytochemical Survey. It continued for about 25 years to the early 1970s.

In 1951 Dr Barnard had turned his attention to a detailed study of the growth of floral parts in wheat plants and later to a systematic study of all the monocotyledons. He established the Herbage Plant Registration Authority and as its Registrar was responsible for preparing authoritative descriptions, origins and identification of all herbage plant cultivars registered in Australia.

In 1964 Dr Barnard edited the book Grasses and Grasslands which covered the accumulated knowledge of Divisional research staff on the biology of grasses and on the problems of pasture establishment, maintenance and improvement.

Based on an article by Bernard Fennesy for the Friends of the ANBG, 2002.

In 1949 an evening phone call from Lindsay Pryor to Prime Minister Ben Chifley was all it took to arrange an official tree planting at the Botanic Gardens a couple of days later.

On 12 September 1949 during a visit by an international delegation of foresters, the Australian National Botanic Gardens were 'officially' started with the planting of an oak and a eucalypt by the Director of Kew Gardens, Sir Edward Salisbury, and the Prime Minister of Australia, Ben Chifley.

The Canberra Times next day reported that Chifley planted the eucalypt and Salisbury planted the oak. This became the accepted wisdom for many years.

The oak, the tree actually planted by Chifley, was moved as a mature plant to Commonwealth Park in the late 1960s as it was considered inappropriate for a 'native' Gardens. It later died.

The plaque next to the Eucalyptus mannifera was placed there in the 1980s, the original plaque stating that Chifley planted the eucalypt. This plaque was replaced by the current one when the above photo came to light clearly showing Chifley planting the oak.

In the 1980s the eucalypt was in serious danger of dying due to the surrounding soil and mulch being piled to deep at its base where it was rotting. Considerable tree surgery was undertaken to save the tree.

 

Dot was a mentor to many, particularly to our younger executive assistants. In her honour, the executive assistant's network Expand has established a Dot Fitzpatrick Memorial Award for Executive Assistant mentoring.

Dot Fitzpatrick was born on 25 February 1949, she died on 16 July 2012.

She was Administrative Assistant to the Director of National Parks, the position occupied at that time by Peter Cochrane, the person ultimately responsible for the Australian National Botanic Gardens within the Australian Government bureaucracy.

A ceremony commemorating her life was held on the Eucalypt Lawn of the Australian National Botanic Gardens on Tuesday 24 July 2012. Many of Dot's family, friends and colleagues gathered together to share their memories of her humour, great support and kindnesses.

On 9 November 2012 a plaque was placed on a rock next to the pool at the Rock Garden, Section 15.

George spent much of his later life working on the eucalypts, and it is fitting that a memorial to him should be placed on the Gardens' Eucalypt Lawn.

On 6 June, 2010, a memorial service was held at the Gardens, where his wife Thelma unveiled a plaque in his memory.

Biography of George Chippendale

Photo of George Chippendale in April 2001.

The Environment Education Centre at the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra has been officially named the Crosbie Morrison Building, to honour Philip Crosbie Morrison's enormous contribution to natural history education. The building was opened by the Hon Ros Kelly, Minister for the Environment, at a ceremony at the Gardens on 1 September 1992. Lucy Crosbie Morrison, the wife of the late Philip, was a special guest at the ceremony.

The Centre is used to provide classroom facilities for many of the 10,000 students who visit the Gardens each year and is a venue for community groups with an interest in Australia's natural history. A small and a large indoor classroom are complemented by a small outdoor amphitheatre facing a lawn area and pools where aquatic biology can be studied.

The Friends of the ANBG, established only two years earlier, contributed funds to the landscaping of the Crosbie Morrison Building. Their contribution was marked with a small plaque.

The original plaque included a photograph of Crosbie Morrison smoking his landmark pipe. Pressure from the anti-smoking lobby saw the plaque replaced with a non-pipe-smoking photo in view of the role of the Centre as a childrens' educational facility.

 

Dr B.T.Dickson (left) and John Wrigley, the then Curator of the Gardens (right), at the opening ceremony for the Gardens in 1970.

The naming of this room honours Dr B.T. Dickson who prepared the Report suggesting the establishment of the Botanic Gardens on its current site. The proposal for naming the room was made by Dr Robert Boden, and it was approved by the then ACT Memorials Committee.

Dickson's Role

In July 1933 there was a recommendation to the Minister of the Interior from the Federal Territory Advisory Council

"that a start be made with laying out portion of the site set apart for the Botanical Gardens and of planting same with native and exotic trees, shrubs and plants of economic value as distinct from those grown for ornamental purposes only."

It was Dr Bertram Dickson, Head of the Division of Plant Industry at the newly established Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR now CSIRO) who was co-opted to examine the proposal and report on its feasibility.

For more than a year Dickson, assisted by Colin Barnard, also of CSIR Plant Industry, gathered information about botanic gardens around the world. On 4 September 1935 Dickson submitted his report to the Advisory Council. It was accompanied by a set of photos taken by Barnard.

Dickson went back to Walter Burley Griffin's plans for Canberra's gardens and endorsed some elements of them. He selected the present site on the lower slopes of Black Mountain, although his proposal envisaged an area three times the size of the present Gardens. He also located it adjacent to both the proposed University and the research laboratories of the CSIR, for he certainly saw a scientific role for the Gardens:

"The authorities would be well advised to plan the proposed gardens at Canberra so that they are developed with a balance between the scientific and the aesthetic, and certainly not to the neglect of the scientific phase."

Dickson promoted the use of native plants, which, considering his recent arrival as an immigrant from Canada in 1927, was quite innovative for the 1930s. He was already referring to 'our' flora:

"Many of our native plants are eminently suited to garden and landscape treatment and this is well recognised abroad for one may read in catalogues of highly prized plants originally obtained from the Australian flora."
"All plants and trees of the Australian flora which are found to be hardy should be grown"

The Dickson Room

The Dickson Room is opposite the ANBG's Theatrette and is used for meetings and functions. It has an attached kitchenette. It is part of the Visitor Centre which was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1985.

In 1997 the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service received a bequest from the estate of the late Anne Heather Ducrou. Money from the bequest was used to support wildlife research and to construct a much needed pavilion in the Gardens.

Construction began early in 1999 and the finished pavilion was formally opened on 15 October 1999.

The Pavilion is sited on the Eucalypt Lawn just below the Nursery and adjacent to the Main Path. The building acts as a wet weather shelter for picnickers and is used for some special events.

The designer of the Pavilion was Malcolm Monro and Associates Pty Ltd, they worked hard to ensure that the building did not 'swamp' the special character of the Lawn. The Pavilion features a series of roofs supported by columns ­ abstract 'trees' which help reinforce the importance of real trees to the Gardens' landscape. A special feature is a windscreen constructed of laser cut metal depicting a 'treescape' and some of the Gardens' wildlife.

The Franklin Building at the Australian National Botanic Gardens was built in 1990 to house the newly-established Environment Resources Information Network (ERIN) and was initially referred to as the ERIN Building. From 1992 it housed the Australian Biological Resources Survey (ABRS), which publishes the Flora of Australia and the Fauna of Australia as well as a range of other publishing and grant-giving activities.

In the early 1990s the building was named the Franklin Building in honour of Sir John Franklin and his wife Lady Jane Franklin, both of whom fostered scientific endeavour in Australia during their residence in Tasmania from 1837-1843.

The link with Tasmania is significant as the Franklin Building is adjacent to two of the Tasmanian flora sections in the Botanic Gardens.

There is a second, less significant but interesting link, in that the logo of the ABRS incorporated a stylised representation of a platypus which the staff had nicknamed "Franklin" in the early 1980s when the proposed damming of the Franklin River in Tasmania (also named for Sir John) was a controversial conservation issue.

ABRS staff vacated the Franklin Building in 2014 and the space was made available for commercial rental.

Australian Prime Minister John Gorton formally opened the Canberra Botanic Gardens, later the Australian National Botanic Gardens, on 20 October 1970.

The ceremony took place in what is now the middle level of the northern public car-park (Section 169).

The plaque was unveiled on a temporary plinth built for the ceremony, and later moved to the curved wall by the stairs in Section 66. In 1999 it was moved to its present site near the waterfall on 'Banks Walk' in Section 210.

John Gorton was Prime Minister of Australia from 10 January 1968 – 10 March 1971.

About John Gorton (1911-2002)

 

John Gorton opening the Gardens, with wife Betina in the background.

 

Before opening the Gardens John Gorton visited the Display Room, now the northern end of the Ellis Rowan Building.

 

Dr B.T.Dickson who wrote the report initiating the Gardens in 1935 (left) and John Wrigley, the then Curator of the Gardens (right), at the opening ceremony in 1970.

 

The dais set up for the speeches at the opening ceremony in the lower level of the old car-park. The temporary plinth is on the right.

 

A marquee was set up near the main entrance gate for refreshments.

 

On 18 June 2004 the ANBG Production Nursery was officially opened by Gary Humphries, Senator for the Australian Capital Territory.

 

Senator Gary Humphries, with Gardens Director Robin Nielsen and Dept of Environment and Heritage Secretary David Borthwick

Lindsay Pryor Plaque

Red Centre Garden Plaque

Ellis Rowan Building

Prince and Princess of Wales Plaque

The Visitor Information Centre at the Australian National Botanic Gardens was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales at a ceremony at 10 am on Thursday 7 November 1985.

The Royal couple were met by the Honourable Gordon Scholes, Minister for Territories; Mr J.D. Enfield, Secretary of the Department of Territories; and Dr Robert Boden, Director of the Gardens accompanied by his wife.

The public and selected school children were invited to attend.

Cultivar Release

At the time of the opening of the Visitor Centre, the Australian National Botanic Gardens released a cultivar, Helichrysum bracteatum 'Princess of Wales', a particularly good horticultural form of what later became Bracteantha bracteatum, now known as Xerochrysum bracteatum.

Canberra Times Supplement

A Royal Visit Souvenir supplement to the Canberra Times was inserted into that day's edition. It had been printed several days earlier.

Extract from the Canberra Times Supplement on 7 November 1985:

The newly-opened Visitor Information Centre heralds a new era for the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

The Centre, built in a post-modern architectural style, was designed by leading Melbourne architect, Peter Crone, and built by Costain Australia Ltd for the National Capital Development Commission.

The Centre occupies a prominent site near the Garden's entrance and is close to the new carpark extensions. It provides an introduction to the Gardens and a starting point for most visitors and for Ranger-guided tours. It is fully accessible to disabled people.

Landscaping around the Centre mirrors the use of natural stone in other areas of the Gardens. The use of sloping retaining walls is a conscious reference to the work of Walter Burley Griffin.

A large pond, which will eventually have a water cascade feeding into it, will feature native aquatic plants.

The Visitor Services Officer for the Gardens, Mr Murray Fagg, said a new information centre had been vital to cater for the increasing number of visitors to the Gardens.

'The old display area did not provide the space we needed to present regular exhibitions on native plant topics and provide other services to the public,' he said.

The lecture theatre, seating 100 people, will serve many functions. Mr Fagg said it would be used by educational groups, for small scientific conferences and to show environmental films.

It will be available by arrangement for groups such as garden clubs when they visit the Gardens.

Administration facilities will be housed upstairs above the lecture theatre. The provision of space for the Plant Sciences Library of the Gardens is also part of the present building program.

The Centre has been equipped with two exhibition spaces. One of these will be used to house permanent introductory displays while the other will be used for changing exhibitions. The first exhibition features the floral emblems of Australia, looking not only at their botany and horticulture but also their use as cultural motifs, both past and present.

The introductory displays include a model of the Gardens including the extension to the south, a random access vegetation slide series and a short video on the Gardens. A reading area with reference books enables visitors to read more about the plants and birds they have seen in the Gardens.

Visitors will be able to browse around the Gardens' bookshop which will contain a range of reference books of botanical and horticultural interest. The bookshop will not be operating when the Centre is officially opened on 7 November but it is hoped that it will open soon after.

The bookshop has perhaps the best view of any room in the Gardens and people gain a panoramic view of Lake Burley Griffin from this vantage point.

A special new 'public' herbarium is another feature of the Centre. This will house a collection of pressed flowering plant specimens for public access. Reference books and a microscope will be housed in this area where people wanting to identify native plants will be assisted.

A horticultural advisor is on duty to assist with public inquiries during the week, while other Gardens staff will be in the Centre on weekends.

Mr Fagg said the number of inquiries 'has increased steadily over the past five years and it is now necessary to have one staff member to answer these inquiries and give advice on native plants and gardening.'

The Princess of Wales, Dr Robert Boden, Anne Boden, and the Prince of Wales in the Visitor Centre.

Armillary sphere sundial

Margaret Wallner Seat – designed by David Appel

Wrigley Plaque

Curator of the Australian National Botanic Gardens 1967–1981

 

Photo of John Wrigley in the Gardens in 1967.

 

Robert Boden, first ANBG Director (left), John Wrigley, first ANBG Curator (standing), David Shoobridge, then Director of Parks and Gardens John's farewell 1981

 

Ceremony for the John Wrigley plaque on 21 October 2005, near the Rock Garden waterfall

On 21 Oct 2005 the ANBG honoured its past Curator, John Wrigley, as part of the celebrations for the 35th anniversary of the official opening of the ANBG in 1970.

The Rock Garden where the plaque is located, along with the development of the Rainforest Gully, was a major achievement for John during his time at the Gardens. He went on to promote rock gardens and rockery plants in his many publications.

Biography of John Wrigley